iElevator
by seddie4thewin
Summary: Post iLove you. What happened between the episodes iLove You and iQ. A special request from a special friend. Hope you like it, girl.
1. Chapter 1

**For my friend and #1 fan, Jessica. Thanks for the idea. Hope I did it justice!**

"How long do we have?" Sam asked with sad eyes as they stood in the elevator.

"An hour and thirty-eight minutes." Freddie replied, looking at his phone with one hand and holding hers with the other.

"If we're not breaking up until midnight, I guess we have time for a little more kissing." She smiled, wondering how good of an idea it really was to break up. "You know, just to kill time."

"Maybe a little more kissing." He agreed, running a hand down her back and stopping as her felt the back pocket of her jeans. He slid his hand into the pocket and curled his fingers slightly, causing her to giggle. "And then?"

"Freddie!"

"My mom's working late." The dark haired boy suggested with a smirk.

"Seriously? You couldn't have led with that?"

"Yep." He raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"And why are we still standing here? We should be in your bedroom. Mama needs a back rub."

The two entered apartment 8-D and soon were on his bed, kissing and holding each other just like always. Technically, they didn't part at midnight as planned, it was closer to one a.m. before Sam left the Benson's apartment, very slowly dragging herself out the door and heading for the elevator.

She didn't know where to go, it was awfully late to be heading into the neighborhood where she lived, but crashing at the Shay apartment wasn't in the cards and staying with Freddie, while normally fun, wasn't a good idea. Even if his mother wasn't home, they were no longer a couple after all.

The Bensons' door opened and for a second she thought Freddie was coming to get her. She wished he was coming to summon her return, to profess that their mutual breakup was a horrible mistake and to beg to be her boyfriend again.

"Sam!" He called toward the elevator, where she was standing, coming up almost beside her. She smiled but no one saw.

"What, Nub?" She half-teased, half beckoned.

"Call me. Or at least text when you get home. You know, that you made it alright."

"Yeah, yeah." She blew him off, and watched from the corner of her eye as he went back toward his apartment's door. The elevator doors opened and she stepped on board like she was going her own execution.

Sam walked the six blocks from Bushwell to her neighborhood in the cold Seattle night air. The only thing keeping her from crying was her determination to get home and go to bed. She barely made it to the last block before the rain began. Great, now she'd be wet and cold.

As she walked into the house, the smell of fresh cigarette smoke flooded her nostrils. That meant one thing, Pam was home and on a Saturday night. Wonders would never cease.

"Sammy!" Her mother's voice came from the front room. "Where the hell have you been? Your curfew is midnight."

Sam said nothing and started up the steps, trying to be stealthy.

"Samantha Joy Puckett!" Pam shouted and got up off the sofa. "Don't ignore me, girl. I know you're not deaf. Were you at Carly's? Why didn't you just stay? It's not a good idea to be lurking around this neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning."

"I - I, um, I was at Freddie's." Sam replied meekly from the eighth step, barely turning to see that her mother was at the foot of the stairwell. "I didn't realize what time it was." She tried to play stupid.

"You know I don't care if you spend the night with your boyfriend. Just let me know where you are, alright." Saturday night and Pam wasn't visibly drunk, despite the beer bottle in her left hand. And she said something remotely motherly. This was getting very weird.

"Sorry, Mom. I thought I'd be home on time or I would have texted. We, uh, we fell kind of asleep. Watching some dumb movie. It was boring, and I was tired. It won't happen again. I'm sorry."

"Uh-huh." Pam knew a half-baked excuse when she heard one and figured Sam was just covering for something else she had done. "Just be careful fooling around with that boy, alright. You don't want to end up a statistic like I did. You do use protection, don't you? I have supplies of you ever need anything."

"God, Mom. Do we seriously need to have this conversation now?" Sam was embarrassed to have this conversation. And at nearly 2 in the morning on the stairway, this couldn't get any more awkward.

"I'm just sayin'! If you ever need condoms or wanna get on the pill, don't be afraid to come to me." Sam's relationship with Freddie was by far the most time she'd ever had a boyfriend. As far as Pam knew, he was the only guy Sam had ever even liked, like that. She even began to wonder about her daughter's sexuality for a little while until this deal with the Benson kid reared its head and the teen committed herself to the mental ward.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sam. You're growing up. Your sister's had boyfriends for a couple of years already. It's natural to be curious about sex and stuff. And that Freddie is decent looking, even if he is a mama's baby. You could do much worse than him, though. Just don't end up like I did. A kid, or in my case, kids on the way and a boyfriend heading off to college. At least get your diploma and find yourself a good job before you start popping out babies."

"We don't have to worry about that, Mom. Fr-freddie and I, um, we - we broke up." Sam said quietly and sat on the steps.

Pam looked at her daughter. Sam was just like her, tough as shoe leather, but when it came to affairs of the heart, as delicate as a rose. Or at least Pam used to be that way. Before life experience and an absentee father to twins hardened her.

"I'm sorry, kid." Pam offered. "When? Was it right after you did it with him? He didn't strike me as that type. I can have a talk with him."

"No. We actually agreed to break up before we, uh, the last time we um, did that." Sam shrugged, trying to play it tough. "I can handle it."

"I know you really loved him. And you were friends before you dated so it's gonna be hard to go back."

"Love." Sam argued. "I still love him. Not past tense, present. It's not something I can just shut off. He's my best friend, well aside from Carly. He's the first boy I kissed. The first . . . "

"I've been where you are and there's nothing I can say or do to make it better, Sam. What you need is to just go on up to your room and cry it out. You don't have to put up the hard front and I understand if you don't want anyone to see you like this. Just lock the door and cry till you can't cry any more. And when you feel like talking, come get me and we'll talk. Deal?"

Sam simply looked at her mother in disbelief. The woman who normally couldn't be bothered to even buy groceries was being nurturing. Was she suddenly tele-ported to a different dimension.

"I might not be the world's best mother, but you're still my little girl, Sammy and when you're ready to talk about it, I want you to come to me, alright?"

For the first time in years, Sam felt something other than contempt for the woman who gave birth to her. "OK, Mom. I will. But for now, I think I'd just rather be alone."

The middle aged woman went back to her perch and the cigarette left smoldering in the ashtray and Sam continued up the stairs.

She entered her dingy bedroom, flipped the light switch and took two steps forward. The one remaining light bulb in the shade-less fixture on her ceiling sizzled and went out. "Dammit." She cussed and flopped her bag down in the direction of her bed.

"Reeeowww." A one-eyed, three-legged, raggedy cat was startled awake, nearly knocked off the bed by the backpack.

"Sorry, boy." Sam sighed feeling her way through the mess on the floor in the dark and finding the switch for the lamp that sat on her bedside table.

The cat glared at her, as much for illuminating the room as for disturbing his rest. She kicked off her shoes and dropped all her weight onto the unmade bed, damp clothing and all, kicked the bag aside and stretched out.

She took her phone out of her back pocket and, as promised, sent Freddie a text. 'Made it home without getting murdered. Pam caught me sneaking in and we had to have a mother-daughter talk. Too bad there was no axe murderer. TTYL, nub.'

With that, she powered the phone down, laid it beside the lamp and reached down to pick up the cat, who protested the affection by squirming out of her grasp and taking up position beside her right hip. Sam dropped her upper body against the headboard and sighed. She knew her mother was right, what she needed was to simply let it out. At least the cat wouldn't judge her for her emotions.

The cat simply hoisted a leg into the air and began to loudly lick at his nether regions as Sam's feelings came to a head and her tears began to fall.

Sure, Sam had been upset before, but this was a hurt like very few others. There was the time her beloved daddy, or at least the man who portrayed their dad, left her and Melanie just before their 5th birthday. There was her grandpa's funeral. There was the day Melanie left home. Sure, each were traumatic in their own respect, but this was a whole new level of hurt. This was the first time she left a non-relative into her heart. Unfortunately, her heart was still shattered and she wondered if she'd ever be able to let anyone else in.

The next day was Sunday, thank goodness. That meant no school, no iCarly, no reason to leave her room. It also meant the same thing for Freddie. Bright and early, as usual, Marissa was home from work and attempted to wake Freddie for church. Even though it meant at least 50/50 odds of ending up in the urgent care clinic, he feigned sickness to avoid leaving his room.

He never came out and told her so, but Marissa knew he was dating Sam. She certainly had no love for the blonde delinquent that Freddie had been spending so much time with but he was growing up and dating girls was part of the deal. Sometimes those girls wouldn't meet her approval. Just as long as he didn't get too serious.

His mother was not stupid. Obviously, there was a problem with the girl, or rather, their relationship. A mother knows the signs and this sign was loud and clear - her little boy had his heart broken and there was literally nothing Marissa could do for him. It was times like this when she wished his father was still around. She gave the young man a pass to miss church and made excuses for him in front of their pastor.

By the time his mother returned from her Sunday ritual, Freddie had managed to shower and emerged from his room long enough to get himself something to eat. This was evident by the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. At least he was eating, she'd deal with his lack of house keeping skills another time. She thought she might speak to Spencer to see if he knew anything about what had happened but talked herself out of it, figuring it best to not involve someone outside the family. The reminder of Sunday was quiet and uneventful in both the Benson and Puckett households.

Monday morning, Marissa was off to work long before it was time for school to begin. Freddie was not a rule breaker, but he was hurting bad, so against his nature, he decided to skip school. Even though he was pretty sure Sam would do the same thing and he wouldn't have to face her, he was certain that by now she would have told her best friend about the breakup. Carly would have more questions than he cared to answer. Add the fact that Carly had been leaving voice-mails and texting all day Sunday and he refused to have any contact for fear she wanted to 'talk', he was sure she knew about it.

He had watched through the peep hole when his brunette friend left for the day. His heart nearly stopped when Carly knocked on his apartment door as she left for school. He swore that she somehow knew he was watching her, even though he hid off to the side of the door and held his breath until she stopped knocking.

It was after noon when he decided it was time to go across the hall and talk to Spencer. The artist was as close to a male role model as he had in his life and for the major part, gave halfway decent advice. For a man who had the worst luck with women, Spencer did seem to know a lot about the fairer sex. A lot more than any of Freddie's teenage friends, at least.

He stepped out into the hall and closer to door 8-C. Just as he raised his hand to knock, Spencer ripped the door back and nearly ran into him.

"Sorry, Freddo. I've gotta get over to Groovy Smoothie. T-Bo's freezer is on the fritz and he's giving away stuff so it doesn't spoil."

"Oh, uh, OK." Freddie stammered and turned to go back into his own home. "We can talk later."

He touched the door knob and it wouldn't turn. "Darn it!"

With all the additional locks, chains, dead-bolts and biometric security devices, he had forgotten to unlock the apartment's original lock - the one on the doorknob.

He sighed. At least Lewbert would have a master key to fit this lock, unlike his mother's other security devices. Otherwise, he'd be crawling in from the fire escape. Wearing his 'lounging around the apartment like a bum' clothes, Freddie was embarrassed to be seen by anyone, but he had no choice. The young man headed downstairs to ask for the spare key.

He approached Lewbert's desk and startled the doorman who was playing a game on his phone. "Gaaah!"

"Um, excuse me, Lewbert."

"Oh, it's just you. That blonde girl isn't sneaking up on me, is she?" Lewbert looked around, out of paranoia.

"No. Just me." Freddie smirked at the mention of Sam.

"I've already told your mother, we are not having two fire drills a week."

Freddie shook his head. "Uh, I'm not here for that. I was just wondering if you'd have a key that would fit our door lock. I went across the hall to Spencer's and I accidentally locked myself out."

"Yeah, sure kid. Whatever." Lewbert pulled open a drawer and removed a ring of keys. Freddie held out his hand but the doorman refused. "I can't just give you the keys to the whole building. Let's go." He plopped a sign on the desk that said 'will return in ten minutes' and walked toward the lift. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I wasn't feeling well." Freddie said and made a fake cough.

"Uh-huh." Lewbert grunted. "So where are those two trouble making girls? Are they 'sick' too?"

"Um, I guess school. I haven't really talked to them today."

"Funny. I haven't seen you more than six feet from the short blonde one in a month." Lewbert smirked. "Does your mother know you're dating her?"

"No. And she doesn't need to. Because I'm not anymore." Freddie answered as they got on the elevator.

"Oh. Sorry. For what it's worth, you could do better." The doorman sneered.

"I wonder about that." Freddie replied quietly. "I really wonder about that."

"Wait. She wasn't just a puppy love crush, you really had something for her? I can't see it, she's obnoxious, but whatever."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened on the eighth floor. "I still do."

"So why'd she dump you?"

"It was mutual, actually."

"Aw, man. Then that really sucks. You can never get back together again then."

"What? Why?" The young man asked as they walked toward the apartment.

"Well, you two both obviously agreed to part if it was mutual. If she dumped you, you could try to convince her to go out with you again. But if it was mutual, you would have had to changed her mind right then and there, but instead you agreed. If you didn't fight for her before you both ended it - phew, there's no going back now. No chance to win her back. Ever."

Freddie's heart sank and the doorman saw him deflate. "Hey, look at it this way, now you can go after the Shay girl. It's not all bad. She's more your type anyway. Kind of a spoiled little brat, but she's just a kid."

"I don't want to go after Carly." He huffed. "Carly's like a sister, I don't feel that way about her." Freddie argued while Lewbert unlocked the door for him. "You want to come in? I can get you a cup of coffee to take back with you."

Lewbert nodded. "If you really felt that way about the other one, why did you agree to break up then?"

"Because we - how do I say this? Sam and I, we're about as compatible as oil and water, wait no gasoline and matches, that's more like it. When we were together we made everyone around us miserable and the longer we tried to force it, the more it was gonna hurt when we finally broke up."

"You've got it bad, kid." Lewbert shook his head. "You really need to talk to that girl and tell her how you feel if you ever want there to be a chance."

"Why? She's got such weird habits and ways. And she's not gonna change for me. And I - I'm too uptight. I worry about stuff like what people think about me, and my grades and stuff that she makes fun of me for. And all she worries about is eating an-and stealing stuff. Neither of us can change who we are. We drove our friends crazy by being together. No one around us was happy, even if we were. Now everyone else can be happy, and we'll just be miserable."

"People don't have to change for a successful relationship. Neither of them. All you have to do is love each other. The rest will work itself out and screw what anyone else thinks."

Freddie was surprised at Lewbert's sudden intellect. "Thanks, Lewbert." He handed him a cup with coffee.

"Yeh. Anytime. I'll bring the cup back up after bit."

Freddie took the remainder of the day to contemplate what he had been told and reflect on hos own feelings before his mother returned home.

**Alright, so there's the start of it. Lots of girl talk coming in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The remainder of the school day was pretty much normal for Carly and Sam, minus their male friend. Walking home from school, the girls had a chance to talk about things.

"So what's up with Freddie?" Carly asked. "He missed school for the first time this year. He must really be sick."

"How the chiz should I know?" Sam cracked. "That's all I've heard all day, where's Freddie, where's Freddie. Even teachers were asking me. What the chiz am I, his keeper?"

"No, you're his girlfriend, I thought maybe he told you why he wasn't in school. Because he won't answer his phone or text back for me. I don't know what I did, but he's either mad at me or on his death bed."

"Well, that's the thing. Um, he's kinda not my boyfriend anymore." Sam said meekly.

Carly just looked puzzled. "Huh?"

"We broke up, Carls. So that's probably why he's not in school. He's probably sitting in his room sulking. I doubt if he's mad at you, he's probably avoiding you so you don't try to fix us. So don't try. Seriously. Don't."

"Is that what both of you have been doing?" Carly questioned. "Avoiding me all weekend? Because I haven't been able to reach either of you since Saturday afternoon. You really think I couldn't mind my own business if you told me to. "

"I guess that's pretty much it." Sam admitted after a pause and a couple of deep breaths.

"So why?"

"Why what? Why do I think you're incapable of minding your own business?"

"No! Why'd you guys break up? You were, like, glued together. Last time I saw you two together was Saturday afternoon when you were all snuggled up on my couch watching Girly Cow."

"We faced reality, Carls." Sam shrugged. "We couldn't be in the same room for more than an hour without fighting unless we were making out. And you can't base a relationship on nothing but that. We have no common interests, I think we proved that over and over. I mean, look at what happened at the train club."

"Oh, Sam." Carly used her condescending and worried tone.

"We made all our friends miserable and our relatives. Even estranged relatives. You should have seen him at the prison. We were forcing something that wasn't meant to be. I think that's the way you and your brother put it."

Carly just stopped in her tracks.

"Why are you standing there, woman? Hurry up, it's gonna rain any minute." Sam pulled at her friend's arm.

The dark haired girl began walking again. "What do you mean about how me and Spencer put it? You mean how he and Jenna were trying to date? Talk about weird and creepy. I mean, she used to baby sit him when he was a little kid. That's about as nasty as Spencer dating you or Wendy or something or Mrs. Benson hooking up with Lewbert."

They had almost reached the door of Bushwell before the raindrops began. "Aw, gross! Why'd you say that, now I've lost my appetite."

"Me, too." Carly was literally heart sick from what her friend just told her.

"It's just, I want life to get back to normal, I don't need a boyfriend, I want things to go back to the way they were before. I don't even care if Freddie hates me like he used to. And I'm really worried this whole mess is going to ruin the show. All I can think, is he's going to quit iCarly and as much as I hate to admit it, we can't have a show without him."

"I guess I'd better talk to him then." Carly said quietly. "But not to butt in, just to make sure he'll still do the show. I can probably smooth things over, at least enough that we can do the show. After all, Freddie will pretty much do anything for me. Especially if I use the look."

Sam felt a more than tiny bit of jealousy, but tried not let it show. "Good luck." She sighed. "You know what, I'm just gonna go home. I need a nap. You go talk to Fredbag and let me know how you make out. Well, not make out, you know what I mean."

"Sa-am." Carly called as she watched Sam continue walking toward her house.

"I'll call you later." Sam said, waving over her shoulder, without turning around.

Carly went up to the eighth floor and, as she figured, Freddie wouldn't answer the door. His phone was obviously turned off, her calls going straight to voice-mail and none of the several dozen texts she sent were returned. She even contemplated going downstairs and asking Lewbert if he knew whether his mother had taken him away, but talked herself out of it.

* * *

Sam quickly walked the remainder of the way to her house, just wanting some alone time. That plan went awry when she opened the front door and found her mom on the sofa, watching a game show.

"Sammy." Pam called out, barely taking her eyes off the screen. "You're home early. I figured you'd go to Carly's to eat like you always do. We don't have much food around here. I seriously need to go to the store."

"Hey, mom." Sam walked toward the living room. "Sup."

Pam shrugged and put out her cigarette. "How was your day, kiddo?"

"Meh. Had to go to school. How good could it have been? But on the plus side, I didn't end up in detention."

"I'm guessing you and Freddie didn't kiss and make up."

"He wasn't even at school. Either he was really sick, in which case, his nutty mom probably has him in the E.R. right about now, or he skipped for the first time in his life."

Pam turned back her show. "Naw. That car costs more than that, you idiot! Where do they find these boneheads?"

"Uh, Mom. Do you maybe have a minute? You know, to talk." Sam asked quietly.

"See. I told you, now you have to run the obstacle course if you want to win it. Moron." Pam shouted at the TV. "What was that, Sammy?" She finally turned back to her daughter.

"Maybe we can talk after the show. What's this goofy woman have to do?" Sam had been sucked into the contest and sat down beside her mom.

The two watched the game show to its conclusion and Pam turned off the TV as soon as it was over. "So, what did you want to talk about, kiddo?"

"I don't know. The other day, you said if I ever want to talk. So I had a couple of days and all, I thought maybe we could talk."

Pam was surprised at Sam's willingness to be so open. "You wanna tell me what happened? With you and Freddie. Sure, you broke up but why? Did he wazz you off real bad or was it because of mom or something?"

"No. He didn't. Well, no more than usual. But I'm used to him being annoying." Sam produced a cheeky grin followed by dropping her head. "We were just delaying the inevitable. We were forcing ourselves into a relationship that was doomed from the start, it wasn't gonna last, so we just cut it off before anyone got hurt."

"Well, that's a damn lie." Pam snapped.

"No. I swear. That's the reason we broke up."

"Uh-huh. Maybe that's why your broke up, but saying no one got hurt isn't true. You looked like you were hurting pretty bad Saturday night and you still do. And knowing how sensitive that boy of yours is, he's probably done nothing but bawl into his momma's chest for the last two days."

"He wasn't in school today." Sam suddenly wondered how he was doing. Sure, she knew he wouldn't be overjoyed, but it never occurred to her that he was inconsolable. "I'm sure he was really sick or his crazy mother would have forced him to go to school."

"Yeah, He's really sick alright. Heart-sick. Look, kid, I'm not much of a parent. We all know that. But one thing I do know is men. I know how to get men to do what I want, give me things, take me places. I know how to read when a man is faking it. Which by the way, is most of the time with most of them. Sure they say they're going to leave their wife, but when it comes down to it, they never do. Like that Jason guy from the car rental place I went out with the last couple of weeks. What a loser."

"Uh, Mom. I think we're getting off track here."

"Right. Anyway, your Freddie. He was sincere about you. There wasn't a time when I saw you two together that he wasn't completely into you. Even on the show. He wasn't faking it just to get some action. He really had feelings for you."

"And I had feelings for him. Have. I still do, but we were just trying to be something that we weren't. We're barely OK, with being friends, how would we ever last as a couple?"

"Did you rush into physical things too soon? Was he lousy at it? I guess it's better to find out a guys a shitty lay before you get in too deep."

"Oh, God. I do not want to have this conversation." Sam dropped her head and sighed loudly. "Maybe we should have waited a little bit longer, for that. But um, I really don't think that would have changed anything. It wasn't bad, it was, uh, good. I, um, guess. For all I know. We just weren't compatible. Like, every other way. I mean, you know how uptight he is about school and stuff. And don't get me started on his mom, she didn't even know about us."

"Yeah, I can tell the boy's a bit high strung. But you can't use one little thing like his uptightness to gauge an entire relationship."

"That's not even the tip of the iceberg, you remember how the guys always want me to sneak ham into the prison when I go to visit?"

"Oh my God. Your uncle didn't put you up to that again! I told him, you're getting old enough they might not charge you as a juvenile any more. Did you get busted smuggling chiz? When he gets out of jail, I'm gonna put him in the hospital."

"No. I didn't get caught, I swear. But I took Freddie with me and he did. He was so damn nervous and acting all tweak-y they suspected he was up to something from the beginning. I doubt if he'll ever be able to go back to that place. At least on that side of the fence. And if he ever runs into . . . , let's just say my favorite cousin will be back in jail for assault again."

"Go on." Pam made a mental note to have another conversation with her brother and her nephew.

"And Freddie's into model trains and junk. I know it's lame, but it's one of his nerd things. So he took me to his train club meeting and I was just trying to make it a little more exciting, I didn't intend to wreck things. But . . . "

"You didn't. Aw, Sammy."

"But I sort of blew up their train display." Sam said with embarrassment. "If the fireworks would have worked right, it would have been so awesome. It would have actually made it fun and remotely cool."

Pam just shook her head.

"Plus I screwed up his NERD camp application. I'm surprised he didn't break up with me right then and there for that. It was all he talked about for weeks, he was looking forward to going and I didn't want him to go. But it was only because I don't want him gone off to some geek retreat all summer."

"That's actually kind of romantic. In a twisted kind of way."

"Oh, and then there was our big date to Pini's. It was supposed to be special. But it was a freakin' disaster. I don't know why I expected anything else. I'm not meant to go to joints like that, I'm more for fast food and Chinese buffets. "

"Aw, Sammy. Those are just dumb things. So, you two aren't into the same activities. That's a good thing."

"I guess. Now that we're through. I don't have to worry about running into him so much."

"No, that's not what I mean. Imagine this. You have every single class all day together, which you pretty much do, right?"

"Yeah. I guess. Except for his fancy math classes."

"Then suppose you do after school activities with him. Train club, geek club, fencing or whatever together."

"Alright, but I usually have detention."

"Then you two spend all weekend visiting our relatives in jail and drag him along."

"I doubt he'd ever do that again, even if I begged him."

"Then you plan your show, film it and hang out afterwards with him and Carly. You'd be together too much. Sure, couples need some stuff in common. But they also need their own chiz, time apart, other friends, a break from being around each other so much. Understand?"

"What you're saying is, I shouldn't want to be with my boyfriend 24-7?" Sam was confused.

"Exactly. Then when you are together, it's quality time. You can do stuff you both enjoy."

"Like? We have nothing in common, Mom. He's a geek, I'm a bad ass. I'm not gonna be hanging around putting puzzles together with him and his mom."

"Like movies. Or video games. Or hanging out with Carly and Spencer. Or that meatball golf you told me about. Whatever makes you both happy. And instead of dinner at some swanky joint, take him to that Chinese buffet over by the mall. Just make sure he pays. Always make sure the guy pays. And hey, speaking of which, we're both starving and I have a coupon for half off dinner buffet. Today's all you can eat ribs and shrimp. What do say?"

"I say I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." Sam replied and stood up.

Pam grabbed her purse and jacket. "Just don't say that kind of chiz once we get down there. They find that really offensive. I got kicked out one time for that."

"OK, so back to Freddie. What should I do?" Sam asked as they walked toward the driveway.

"Let nature take it's course. If you guys were meant to be, you'll find your way back to each other. It might not be this week or this year, it might be after you get out of school or whatever. It might even be after college. Or in another state."

Sam just sighed as they got in the car. She didn't want to wait that long.

"I want you to remember two things. What's meant to be will always find a way. And if you love someone set them free. If they don't come back, hunt them down and . . . wait, I don't think that's appropriate. Forget I said that second one."

**Who would have guessed that Sam and her mother would be able to bond over the breakup. Carly gets involved next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day, Freddie had avoided Carly most of the school day. He and Sam shared a few glances and a couple of words during common classes, but there was little conversation. Rumors of their split manifested and by lunchtime everyone was aware they were no longer a couple. Freddie spent lunch time in the A.V. room, working on some extra credit projects with Gibby and a couple of other guys. After school Freddie disappeared before the girls were even ready to go, lucking into a chance to scoot out a few moments early and quickly head for home. Once again, the two girls had an opportunity to talk as they left their school.

"So where's Spencer today?" Sam asked. "This is two days in a row he made us walk."

"He's been up in Yakima all day helping Granddad with some things. I'm not sure if he's coming home tonight or staying. He's supposed to call after bit and let me know."

"I'd say we could hang at my place but I don't think that would be any better than staying alone." Sam smirked. "Plus Pam's liable to be home again."

"You could always stay over." Carly suggested. "I hate to be alone and then we can work on that civics project."

"Meh, I guess." Sam shrugged. "If Spencer's not there, what are we gonna eat?"

"I know how to cook, Sam." Carly huffed. "So did you talk to Freddie?"

"About what? I doubt he'll help with the project thing since he's not my boyfriend anymore. Man, I should have waited till this was done to break up with him."

"Sam, that's really insensitive." Carly knew Sam was just putting up a tough front. "I meant did you talk to him about you two?"

"What's there to talk about? We split up. Pretty simple."

"About how this might affect iCarly. If he doesn't talk to either of us, and it doesn't look like he intends to, how are we supposed to plan the show, let alone pull it off."

"I thought you were gonna have a little talk with him about that."

"He avoids me like I have the plague, but maybe I'll try to slip over after while. If I can get him to answer the door." The brunette whined. "Maybe I can ask for some help with geometry or something."

"You're acing geometry."

"But Freddie doesn't know that. He had it last year, so he's not in that class with me. I can tell him I need help studying for a test or something."

"Might work to get him to let you in. Then just slowly bring up the subject of whether he still intends to work on the show?"

"Um, yeah sure I can talk to him about that." Carly replied like it was an afterthought.

Sam picked up on this. "Please don't be trying to psychoanalyze him about the break."

"I wasn't!"

Sam looked at her in disbelief. "Well, I sure hope you weren't intending to make a move on him."

"No!" Carly snipped. "I just think, maybe he needs someone to talk to is all."

"He has other friends, Carls."

"Like? You really think he'd talk to Gibby about this? Or Brad? Maybe Spencer, but he's not around."

"And you seriously think Frednub is going to sit down and talk to the BFF of the girl he just broke up with about said breakup? To quote Aerosmith, Dream on."

"Hey, he might. After all, we're friends, too. Maybe him and I aren't as close as you and I are, but he's hands down my best guy friend. Freddie's like another brother to me and I really feel bad because I know he doesn't have anyone to help him through this. Speaking of helping through, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. Better than ever. I don't have people seeing me with a nub anymore. Dating him did some serious damage to my street cred you know."

The dark haired girl just shook her head at her friends cold act. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

"I'm good. And why does everyone keep wanting to talk to me? First Pam, now you. Melanie keeps sending me texts, too so I guess Mom told her about what I told her. And just for the record, talking to Mel is not ever happening."

"You talked to your mom about this? Dang."

"Yeah. A little. She was actually, well, how can I put this, almost . . . "

"Motherly?"

"I was thinking normal. Not crazy over the top or anything, but she's actually pretty experienced at breakups you know."

"So you're good about it now?"

"Hell, no. I'm not good about it. Freddie was the first guy I ever really lov, er, sorta liked that way. And I'm totally torn up about it, but better a little torn up now than after six months or year when it would be that much worse. We weren't going to be together forever, so why even bother at all?"

"Oh, Sam." Carly used the tone of pity.

"It's like, what's the point in making your bed, you're just gonna mess it up again. Sooner or later he would have just realized what every one else knew, that him and I are about as good together as a cat and a mouse. I'm just glad we only ever, like, you know, a couple of times."

"OMG, you're serious? You - you really did it with Freddie?. Like, the whole way did it? Sam!"

Sam just gave her a look.

"I mean, I knew you guys were pretty handsy with each other, but you seriously let him do that to you. Jeez! You really gave him your . . . "

"Yes. I'm not necessarily proud of if, but yes. And don't try to make it sound like it was his idea and I 'let' him do whatever. If anything, it was more my idea than his. And that's one of the reasons it hurts so bad, I thought the day it happened the first time, that maybe, just possibly there was a slight chance that he was the one. Even the night of the breakup, we, uh, and it felt like it meant something more."

"You did it that night? And then you broke up? That's cold. Did you ever think how he feels? Unless I miss my guess, Freddie's a basket case over that fact alone."

"Oh, please. He was glad for the excuse to break up. He's dodging a bullet an' he knows it."

"Sam. You know how sensitive Freddie is. He gave you his, oh man, I can't say it, his guy virginity. But, you're putting words in his mouth if you think he's happy to be away from you. I never saw him happier than when he was dating you. I don't think there's any way for anyone else to make him feel that way."

"If he was so stinkin' happy with me, then why did he agree to break up? He could have fought for us, Carly. He could have put his foot down and demanded we not break up. He has no damn spine."

"Yes, because arguing with you has always worked so well for him in the past."

"OK, so maybe not that so much. But he could have put up some protest. He just agreed with me and we ended it."

"So knowing what I know now that I didn't know fifteen minutes ago, how are you guys ever going to be able to work together? For the show, I mean? I know I agreed to talk to him, but what do I say? You guys have done, er, stuff. You two can't erase that memory. An - and neither can I. I don't know if I can ever look at him the same way again. But seriously, was it good?"

Sam just rolled her eyes, not wanting to answer.

"Was it at least decent?"

Sam's smirk told her all she needed to know. "Just don't make this any more awkward than it already is, OK? If you can talk him into just forgetting the last couple of months happened and get back to the way things were, I'd be good with it. But, like you said, I don't see that happening."

The girls took the private elevator up to the Shays' apartment and after an hour or so, Carly decided it was time to confront her friend. She sent Freddie a text and soon he responded. They agreed to meet in ten minutes.

Freddie knew what the meeting was about. And it had nothing to do with studying for a test as she tried to feign. After all, the girls were like sisters, Sam had told Carly every little detail by now and true to her nature, the brunette had to stick her nose into their business.

Without telling him Sam was at her place or telling the blonde where she was going, Carly made her way to apartment 8-D.

"Hey, Freddie." Carly said as he opened the door. "Can I come in?"

"I invited you a bit ago, didn't I? Where's your geometry book?" He stood aside and left her into the apartment.

"Look, um, I'm really sorry about you and Sam." She began. "For what it's worth, I wish I could help you fix it."

"Thanks. But I know we made your life miserable and everybody else's when we were together. Like you said, if we couldn't work out our own problems, we shouldn't have been together. So you don't have to pretend you're not glad we split up."

"I'm not pretending. And I'm not glad. You guys are my friends and I feel bad for both of you."

As sad as he was, he was slightly miffed at Carly for weaseling her way in to talk to him under the pretense of school work. More than that, though, he was concerned about how his ex was feeling. "How's Sam? She's probably glad to be nub free."

"Actually, Sam's not in the best mood either. She's pretty down. We all are."

"I don't understand why it's any skin off your butt." He suddenly snipped, walking away from her. "Aren't you here to study geometry instead of playing couples therapist?"

"It's because my two best friends are hurting and I feel like I'm being torn in half because of it."

"It isn't about YOU, Carly! That's the whole god damn problem. Our relationship was all about how you and Gibby and Spencer and my mom and everybody else felt. It's why we broke up! Because all we ever heard was judgment and bitching from other people. If our so called friends would have just minded their own suckin' business, we would have been fine. I'm not trying to be rude, but if you're not here to study, I'd rather just be alone." He took a seat on the couch and motioned toward the door.

"Freddie!" Carly began to tear up. "Please don't be mad at me. It wasn't my fault. I'm just trying to be a friend. What can I do to help?"

He left out a deep breath at her water works. "It's not completely your fault, but what you told Spencer about Jenna. Well, it kind of applied to me and Sam, too. And when we heard it, she really took it to heart."

She sat on the far end of the sofa. "I know, Freddie. Sam told me. But I didn't mean you guys. Honestly. Cross my heart."

"Even if you didn't, the worst part was, Sam thought you did and after the way you dressed us both down after that disaster as Pini's, who wouldn't have thought any different? Sam figured sooner or later we'd go off the rails anyway, so you had to be talking about us and nothing was going to change her mind."

"Aw, Freddie." The dark haired girl wiped at her face. "I'm so sorry."

"What I don't get, is why Sam didn't just ignore what everyone else thought. For the first time in her life she gave a crap about what other people thought and this time it would have been best to ignore them."

"Well, maybe you should have said something if that's the way you feel."

"Oh, like arguing with her once she's made her mind up is just such a fantastic idea. If I'm looking for ways to wazz her off, I know that's always a winner." He snarked.

"You're the world's foremost expert when it comes to arguing with Sam about nonsense. Then when it comes to something important, you fizzle out?"

"Carly." He warned.

"I'm sorry, Freddie. I'm sorry you're in pain and I'm sorry you and Sam broke up. And I'm sorry for bothering you. Can you just answer one thing for me, please?"

"Hhhh, what?"

"Are you going to be alright to do the show? Not to be cold or anything, but I'm worried, well, Sam and I are both worried."

"Yes, Carly. I'll be OK to do the show. And I'll be over tomorrow for the first run-through. But I might bring Gibby or Brad along. You know, so it won't be too awkward." He said as he escorted her toward the door. "Someone else needs to know how to do my job anyhow."

"OK, Freddie. See you at school tomorrow."

Carly went back to her own apartment and as soon as she was through the door, Sam pounced. "Were you at Freddie's?" She saw Carly's streaked mascara and immediately went into 'defend Carly mode'. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing." She tried to lie.

"Carly."

Carly drew in a breath and more tears fell. "That it was my fault that you guys broke up and that if me and his mom and Gibby and everyone had just stayed out of it, you guys would have been OK."

Sam just stayed silent, knowing that was true.

Carly grabbed a tissue to wipe at her face and blow her nose. "Say something."

"Like what?" Sam replied quietly. "He's not wrong. Hell, he's never wrong. He's so damn smart, he's arrogant, that's one of his biggest problems. Well, that and he's a fuckin' dork."

"Sam!" Carly gasped at her language.

"You know what, I, uh just remembered I need to go home. To help my mom wax her back hair. Sorry, but I promised."

"Oh, Sam!" Carly broke out into a deep sob.

Sam sighed again. "And now I can't go and let you all alone like this."

"No. No, you go ahead. I'll be fine. Go wax Pam's back."

"What did he say about the show?" Sam asked.

"That he'll do it. He's OK with it."

"Really?" Sam was relieved. "Even after me and him . . . , everything we did. Wow."

"But he's bringing a friend, either Brad or Gibby to the rehearsal and stuff. I think he's planning on training his replacement."

"Great, now we have multiple dweebs to put up with."

The next day, the two again managed to all but completely avoid each other at school. When it was time for rehearsal, Freddie was accompanied by Gibby when he entered the studio.

"Gibbehhh!" The big guy announced as he always did when he entered a room.

"Hey, Gibbs." Carly smiled. "Hi, Freddie."

"Hey, Carls." The tech producer said back quietly as he began hooking up his equipment. "Hey, Sam."

"Freducchini." Sam replied without looking up. "Mermaid-man."

It was obvious the two had unresolved feelings, but as the session progressed, things got a little less awkward. By the time their run through was over, the foursome had agreed to make their way to the smoothie shop.

Once there, Carly immediately spotted a cute guy from her science class and went to talk to him. When Gibby made a trip to the bathroom, it left Sam and Freddie alone to talk for a few minutes.

"So, uh Sam. How's it been going?" Freddie asked quietly.

"Eh, not bad." She shrugged.

"Your mom OK?" He didn't know what else to say, so he settled for small talk.

"Pretty much, she's got this nasty rash on her, um, well, never mind. She probably wouldn't want me to tell anyone."

Freddie shivered. "Thanks for that."

Sam made a funny face. "You been alright? You missed school on Monday. Feeling better?"

"Maybe a little." He replied unsure of his answer. "Um, no not really."

"Look, uh, I know things are gonna be weird for a while, but I just wanted to let you know, I think we owe it to our friends to get back to normal."

"Right. I agree. Wait, we owe them?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. We were a bit obnoxious as a couple. Don't you think it would be nice to get back to the way things used to be?" For once Sam wanted to be the normal one.

"I guess." He conceded. "But after we, um, you know. W - we can't really undo that."

"You mean, what we did, twice, in your bedroom?" She smirked.

"Yeah, don't you think that makes it a little awkward? But for what it's worth, I'm willing to try to get back to normal if you are."

"YeP." She took in a large gulp through her straw. "As long as you buy me another smoothie."

"I'm not your boyfriend anymore. I don't have to buy you food."

"Like that ever stopped you before you were. Unless you were just buying me stuff to try to score."

He shook his head and smiled at her with a look she thought she'd never see again.

"Hey, you might not be right now. But maybe some day. If I get a little more normal." She reminded him of their conversation.

"Yeah. Um, yeah, right, some day. Maybe. And if I start to be a little more abnormal and loosen up." He replied with a slurp, finishing his drink. "So."

"So." She repeated.

"What flavor?" He asked as he stood.

"Surprise me." She smiled. "Just not the hummas flavor."

From across the room, Carly saw their glances at each other and breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to flirt with Andrew.

"Guys! There's strawberry scented liquid soap in the ladies room." Gibby ran up to them, like he'd just seen a miracle.

"How do you know? Did you go in the ladies room to check out the soap again? Seriously. You've gotta quit going in there, dude." Freddie shook his head. "You remember what T-Bo told you."

"What?" Gibby asked. "God, no. I didn't go in the ladies room. What do think I am, some kind of pervert?"

"Then how do you know what scent of soap is in there? Did you just go up and ask some random girls?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you can't get a date."

"Now that would really make me a weirdo, wouldn't it?" He replied simply. "I just sniffed their hands when they came out."

**I couldn't resist ending it on a funny note.**


End file.
